Yuta – Japanese at Orchard Plaza
FEBRUARY 20, 2023
Orchard Plaza was really an interesting rabbit warren of various Japanese influenced private restaurants/izakayas. A bit atas (or high-class), a bit mysterious and underbelly-like (like Yuta’s blue box), but ultimately serving good and classy food, mostly with alcohol orders expected.
This was recommended by ieatishootipost, and was one of the few restaurants/izakayas that I wanted to try in Orchard Plaza, that was opened on a Monday, and I could get a reservation over phone a couple days of hours before opening. Nice and interesting experience, and a really value-for-money omakase at $115 before service charge and taxes, with a solid ten courses.
From left to right, up to down, the dishes were (1) Japanese oyster with ponzu sauce, ikura, momiji oroshi and scallions – fresh, milky and somewhat citrusy, (2) Cucumber with vinegar, seaweed and sea eel soup or kyuri wakame anago soup – sour and refreshing, (3) Red prawn, flounder or hirame and scallop sashimi – a trio of qq sashimi, with the prawn and scallop also creamy, (4) A5 Kagoshima Wagyu- really fatty, unctuous and beefy with a slight crispy char outside and smokiness from the binchotan.
(5) Exploding or bakuhatsu tofu in beef miso stew – strong soy bean flavour with contrasting konjac and greasy and beefy broth, (6) Wakasagi Japanese smelt fish with yuzu kosho – fatty and crispy, (7) Flounder skin, ark shell or akagai and tuna belly sushi – fresh and creamy with ark shell crunchy, (8) Uni ikura rice – sweet, creamy, rich and indulgent with uni and egg yolk in the rice, (9) Fish dashi broth with seaweed – delightful like tang hoon, (10) Macha warabi mochi with azuki beans.
Orchard Plaza, 150 Orchard Rd, #02-12, Singapore 238841, open Mon to Sat 6 to 11pm, close Sun
yeeppi 